1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to time pieces for keeping time and specifically to time pieces wherein the time face of a time piece having an LCD face can selectively change color as desired by the user or can change color automatically upon a change from morning time to afternoon time. Further it relates to time pieces having at least two separate time zones to enable the user thereof to see at a glance whether the time indicated by each time piece is in the morning before 12 noon or is in the afternoon after 12 noon.
2. Description of Related Art
Time pieces having LCD faces are well known in the art. Many time pieces have numerical indicia for indicating to the user the day, date, and/or other information. Some of them have LCD faces of different color such as blue, purple, or the like. However, none of them, to applicant""s knowledge, have the ability to change the color of the LCD face as desired by the user. Such watches or time pieces have a decorative or esthetic attraction inasmuch as the user can change the color of the watch face according to the desire of the user such as the type of clothes being worn or simply the whim of the user. Further, none of them, to applicant""s knowledge, have the ability to change the color of the LCD face of the watch automatically when the time changes between A.M. and P.M.
Further, dual time pieces are well known in the art. They generally have, in one clock unit, two clock faces so that the dial on one face can be set to local time and the second dial on the second face can be set to a time in a different time zone. They can be mechanical watches or LCD watches.
The problem occurs when looking at the local time and then when looking at the time in the other time zone and determining whether it is in the morning or the afternoon. For instance, a traveler in Japan may set the local time to 12:00 noon while, at that same time in a location such as Dallas, Tex., the time may be 10:00 p.m. When looking at the two dials, one may wonder if the time in Dallas means 10:00 a.m. the next day or 10:00 p.m.
It would advantageous to have such an LCD watch or time piece that had an LCD face that could be selectively changed in color by the user or that would automatically change the color of the dial from a first color to a second different color upon a change in time between A.M. and P.M. Further, it would be advantageous to have a dual zone time watch that indicated on each dial face the time in a respective time zone and whether that time was in the afternoon or in the morning.
The present invention solves the problem of the prior art by having (1) an LCD watch that has an LCD face that can change color as selected by the user, (2) an LCD watch that has an LCD face that changes color automatically upon a change in time between A.M. and P.M. and (3) a dual time zone time piece that has indicia related with each dial face that indicates whether the time indicated is A.M. or P.M. This can be accomplished with either a mechanical watch or a watch having an LCD face by placing indicia on the face that indicates whether the time indicated is in the A.M. or the P.M. The indicia could be a window in which the letters a.m. or p.m. appear. In an LCD display, the color of the LCD face representing p.m. time could change to a darker color. It is well known, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,469 issued Apr. 7, 1987, that certain LCD materials will change color upon application of a different voltage to the LCD material. In this manner, the user of the watch, when looking at the two faces, will know immediately whether each of the first and second time zones is in the a.m. or the p.m. Thus, if the user is in Japan and has set local Japanese time to 10:00 a.m. on a first dial or LCD face, it will have indicia representing a.m. hours (such as a window with a.m. in it or the color of the LCD being a given color). If the second dial or LCD face is set to 3:00 a.m. in some other time zone, that dial will have indicia on it also representing a.m. hours.
Thus the user will know that when it is 10:00 a.m. where he/she is located, it is 3:00 a.m. at the other time zone. In like manner, if it is 10:00 a.m. local time in Tokyo and 3:00 p.m. in a second time zone, the user will be able to tell that the time in the second time zone is in the p.m. because of indicia that shows, such as a window with the proper A.M./P.M. letters therein or because of the different color of first LCD face from the second face.
It is an important object of the present invention to provide an LCD time piece with an LCD background face that automatically changes color, preferably from light to dark, upon a change in the time between A.M. and P.M. The liquid crystal background display is of the type that changes color when the voltage applied thereto is changed as discussed earlier. A power supply is coupled to the LCD background display for activating the liquid crystal. A settable clock circuit is coupled to the LCD background for causing time related indicia to be displayed thereon. An electronic circuit is coupled to the power supply for automatically changing the voltage applied to the LCD background display for changing the color of the display when the clock circuit indicates a change in time between A.M. and P.M.
It is another important object of the present invention to provide an LCD time piece with an LCD background that can be selectively changed in color by the user thereof to visually enhance the watch color with particular clothing or for any other reason. A control device, preferably in the form of a button on the side of the watch or time piece, can be selectively actuated (such as being depressed) to cause a change in the color of the LCD background on the watch.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a dual zone time piece that enables the user to tell when each time zone is in the a.m. or the p.m.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide indicia on the face of each time piece that provides a visual indication of a.m. or p.m. condition.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a dual time piece having a window in the face thereof in which a designation of morning or afternoon hours appear.
It is yet another important object of the present invention to provide a dual time piece having LCD faces in which a face showing a.m. time is of one color and the face showing p.m. time is of another color.
Thus, the invention relates to an improved LCD time piece in which the LCD background may change color automatically upon a change in time between the a.m. and the p.m. The invention has a liquid crystal background display that changes color when a voltage applied thereto is changed. A power supply is coupled to the LCD background display for activating the liquid crystal and provides a first background color. A settable clock circuit is coupled to the LCD background display for causing time related indicia to be displayed thereon. An electronic circuit is coupled to the power supply and to the settable clock circuit for changing the voltage applied to the LCD display for changing the color of the display when the clock circuit indicates a change in time between the A.M. and the P.M.
The invention also relates to an improved LCD time piece in which the LCD background color may be selectively changed by the user of the time piece whenever desired. Again, a liquid crystal background display changes color when the voltage applied thereto is changed. A power supply is selectively coupled to the background display for activating the liquid crystal to a first color. Again, a settable clock circuit is coupled to the LCD background display for causing time related indicia to be displayed thereon. A manually controlled electronic circuit is coupled between the settable clock circuit and the power supply for selectively changing the voltage applied to at least a to portion of the LCD background display to cause the at least a portion of the LCD background display to change color.
The invention also relates to a dual time piece having at least first and second time indicating units thereon for indicating time in at least first and second time zones, the improvement comprising indicia associated with each time indicating unit for providing a visual indication of whether that time indicating unit is indicating a.m. time or p.m. time.
The invention also relates to a method of telling time in two separate time zones comprising the steps of providing first and second time indicating faces; and locating indicia on each time face that shows whether the time indicated thereon is a.m. time or p.m. time.